Cost comparisons – February 2016

This was the third of four quarterly surveys. For a summary of the results of all four surveys, click here. For the May 2016 survey, click here. For the November 2015 survey, click here. For the August 2015 survey, click here.

The survey took place in February 2016 (i.e. late Summer) and all the shops surveyed were in Eltham. It focussed on veggies and fruit, but also covered other staples (eggs, bread, etc). Because they are not considered to be at all comparable, condiments etc were not included and, for similar reasons, meat was not covered. Certified Organic veggies were covered but, because they were often priced differently than non-organics (e.g. per bunch), they are not included in the analysis below.

Obviously there are caveats about the precise comparability (e.g. one seller’s bunch will be a different size than another’s; varieties; etc). For this reason, the results are presented in the aggregate only.

Summary of results (from a cost perspective only)

1. For veggies on average, the farmers’ market was around 10% more expensive than the supermarket and 20% more expensive than the greengrocer.

2. For fruit on average, the farmers’ market was around 10% more expensive than the supermarket and 10% cheaper than the greengrocer.

3. For other staples, the comparisons were a bit all over the place, with the farmers’ market prices being competitive for some items (e.g. free range eggs) but more expensive for others.

Veggies

In terms of scope:

• Around 40 different veggies were for sale at the market.¹ This is slightly more than the number in the spring survey.²
• For the majority of these (two-thirds), there were multiple sellers. Around half were available from a Certified Organic stall.
• All 40 veggies were also available from both the greengrocer and the supermarket.
• For some veggies, no cost comparisons are possible, mostly because of the differing units used for the pricing (e.g. per Kg vs per bunch).

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (29 veggies):

• Supermarket cheaper³ for 6 of the veggies.
• Market cheaper for 10 of the veggies.
• Prices the same for 13 of the veggies.
• On ‘average’, the market was 10% more expensive than the supermarket.⁴⁵

Comparing non-organic market costs vs greengrocer costs (30 veggies):

• Greengrocer cheaper for 16 of the veggies.
• Market cheaper for only 2 of the veggies.
• Prices the same for 12 of the veggies.
• On ‘average’, the market was 20% more expensive than the greengrocer.

Fruit

In terms of scope:

• 11 fresh fruit were for sale at the market.⁶ This is similar to the number in the spring survey, although the list of the fruit was rather different.⁷
• For most fruit, there was only one seller, but with an additional Certified Organic for apples, nashi pears and pears.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (6 fruit):

• Supermarket cheaper for 3 fruit.
• Market cheaper for 2 fruit.
• Prices the same for 1 fruit.
• On ‘average’, the market was 10% more expensive than the supermarket.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs greengrocer costs (8 fruit):

• Greengrocer not cheaper for any fruit.
• Market cheaper for 4 fruit.
• Prices the same for 4 fruit.
• On ‘average’, the market was 10% cheaper than the greengrocer.

Other staples

In terms of scope:

• The items compared were eggs, bread (*2) and cheese (*4).

Comparing non-organic market costs vs supermarket costs (7 items):

• Market cheaper for 1 item (free range eggs).
• Market more expensive for the other 6 items.
• On ‘average’, the market was 90% more expensive than the supermarket.

Comparing non-organic market costs vs small shop costs (7 items):

• Market cheaper for 1 item (cheddar cheese).
• Prices the same for 3 items (free range eggs, brie, camembert).
• Market more expensive for 3 items.
• On ‘average’, the market was 30% more expensive than the small shop.

Footnotes

1. Basil, beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, coriander, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, pak choy, parsley, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, rocket, rockmelon, sage, silverbeet, spinach, spring onions, sweetcorn, tomato, watercress and zucchini.

2. The veggies that were available at the summer market but not at the spring market comprised: basil, capsicum, cucumber, eggplant, rockmelon, sweetcorn and tomato. The veggies that were not available at the summer market, although they had been at the spring market, comprised: asparagus, broad beans, mint and parsnips.

3. For the purposes of this analysis, ‘cheaper’ means that the cost is at least 10% less and ‘more expensive’ means that the cost is at least 10% more.

4. The purpose of these ‘averages’ is to give a feel for the scale of the differences, not to provide arithmetically accurate quantifications. Let’s say that, for 3 items, the costs at place X were 3% more expensive, 10% cheaper and 20% cheaper respectively than the costs at place Y. Then the ‘average’ difference would be 9% ((10 + 20 – 3)/3).

5. The main reason for this difference is that sweetcorn was much cheaper (less than half the cost) in the supermarket than at the market. Ignoring sweetcorn, the prices on ‘average’ would have been similar.

6. Apples, blackberries, grapes, lemons, limes, nashi pears, oranges, peaches/nectarines, pears, plums and strawberries.

7. Although the numbers of different fruit available at the summer and spring markets were similar, the actual lists of the fruit were rather different. The fruit that was available at the summer market but not at the spring market comprised: blackberries, grapes, limes, nashi pears, pears and plums. The fruit that was not available at the summer market, although it had been at the spring market, comprised: apricots, avocados, blueberries, cherries and mandarins.